Custom Pallet Spec Sheet: 6 Things to Know Before You Order

Custom pallet specifications come down to six things we need before quoting: load dimensions, load weight, how it is handled, where it is going, one-way or reusable, and quantity and date. Simple sizes take 3-5 business days; larger, reinforced or heat treated orders, 7-10. No strict minimum; single prototypes accepted.

What a custom order can include

Option	What we build
Size range	From 12x12 inches up to 96x48 and larger
Common oversized sizes	60x48, 72x48, 96x48
Heavy loads	Reinforced build: thicker deck boards, additional stringers or blocks, hardwood lumber
Deck options	Flush deck or reversible
Export	Heat treated (ISPM-15) on all custom sizes: 56C core, 30 minutes, IPPC-stamped
Lead time	3-5 business days simple; 7-10 larger orders, reinforced or heat treated; rush often possible
Minimum	No strict minimum; single prototypes accepted
Free delivery	Orders of 100 pallets and up, anywhere in our service area

You already know the load does not fit a 48x40. It is a piece of machinery, a studio set piece or a heavy casting, and this week you will call two or three yards for a number. People who search for custom pallets near me usually have the supplier question half answered. What goes wrong is the request itself.

Most product pages, ours included, say to send your specs. Custom pallet specifications are the part that rarely gets spelled out. Before we quote a custom request at our yard we ask the six questions below, and each answer changes something physical in the build.

Why Two Yards Quote the Same Pallet Differently

A request that reads “custom pallet, 60x48, need 20” leaves most of the build undecided. It does not say what the load weighs, whether a pallet jack has to get under it, or whether the shipment leaves the country. A yard cannot price a blank, so each yard fills it with its own assumption. One prices standard lumber for a light load; another prices a reinforced hardwood build to be safe. The numbers cannot be compared because they describe different pallets.

Complete custom pallet specifications take the guessing out. Send the same six lines to every yard, and each custom pallet quote that comes back should describe the same build.

The Six Lines of a Custom Pallet Spec

Each line below is one of the custom pallet specifications a quote depends on. Each one ends with the build decision it triggers.

1. What the Load Measures

Measure the load itself: length and width of the base at its widest points, plus overall height. Then check the result against standard sizes before asking for a build. We supply standard block pallets in 48x40, 42x42, 36x36, 48x48, 48x36, 48x42 and 40x40, and a standard size that is in stock ships sooner than anything that has to be built.

If none fits, the footprint is built to the load, from 12x12 inches up to 96x48 and larger. Larger footprints get thicker lumber and additional support blocks; the oversized configurations such as 60x48 and 96x48 have their own article.

2. What It Weighs and How the Weight Sits

Give the total weight in pounds and say how it sits: spread across the whole base, or resting on a few feet or contact points. The reference is the standard 48x40, whose dynamic limit, the weight it carries safely in motion, is about 2,500 lbs. Past that, the weight changes the build, so it has to be on the request. It should never be discovered at the dock.

This line turns a plain build into one of our reinforced pallets. Cast iron, concrete, steel coils and stone slabs are the typical cases, and they get thicker deck boards, more stringers or blocks, and hardwood lumber. Weight is also half of deciding whether the load needs a custom pallet at all.

3. How It Gets Lifted and Stored

• Forklift or pallet jack. Tell us what moves it at your dock and at the receiving end.
• Entry sides. If it must be picked up from any side, say so; block construction gives true 4-way entry.
• Racked or floor-stacked. Say which; block pallets are better suited than stringer pallets to automated racking and high-bay storage.

The decision this line settles is the construction under the deck: blocks or stringers.

4. Where It Is Going

A pallet that stays in the United States does not require heat treatment. Write “domestic” and this line is done.

A pallet that leaves the country, by container from Long Beach or San Pedro or by air out of LAX, falls under ISPM-15: the wood is held at a 56C core temperature for 30 continuous minutes, and the IPPC mark goes on at least two opposite sides. We build heat treated ISPM-15 pallets in every custom size. Heat treatment moves the order into the 7-10 business day range, and any blocking or bracing lumber added to the load must be treated too.

5. One Trip or Many

Does the pallet leave with the shipment for good, or does it come back and go out again? A one-way pallet is built for exactly one trip. A pallet that cycles between your plant and a customer is worth building heavier, and two deck options belong to this line: a reversible pallet works from either face, and a flush deck gives a smooth, continuous top for a load that needs support across its whole base.

6. How Many and By When

What you tell us	What it means
Simple custom dimensions	3-5 business days
Larger order, reinforced or heat treated	7-10 business days
One pallet to test	Accepted; there is no strict minimum
A tighter date	Ask; a rush build is often possible
100 or more pallets	Free delivery; under 100, a delivery fee that depends on distance

Give the date the load actually ships. The gap between what a Los Angeles yard builds to order and what ships from stock is mostly a gap in days.

Custom Pallet Specifications: A Block You Can Copy

Here are the same six lines as plain text, to paste into an email or a quote request or to read over the phone. If you do not know a line, leave it blank; a blank we can ask about is better than a guess we cannot see.

CUSTOM PALLET SPECIFICATIONS

1. Load size (L x W x H, inches): ______ x ______ x ______
2. Load weight (lbs): ______
   Weight sits on: [ ] whole base   [ ] a few points
3. Moved by: [ ] forklift   [ ] pallet jack
   Entry needed: [ ] 2 sides   [ ] 4 sides
   Stored: [ ] racked   [ ] floor-stacked
4. Destination: [ ] domestic   [ ] export, country: ______
5. Use: [ ] one trip   [ ] reused
   Deck: [ ] standard   [ ] flush   [ ] reversible
6. Quantity: ______   Needed by: ______
   One prototype first: [ ] yes   [ ] no

Delivery city or ZIP: ______

What a Local Yard Changes: Prototype First, Then the Run

Custom pallet specifications, even complete ones, are still only a description. The load is the test. Our address is 1160 E 78th St, in the Florence district and less than 2 miles from Vernon, and custom sizes are built there by our own crew. Because there is no strict minimum, the first order can be a single pallet.

Build one. Set the real load on it, lift it with the forklift or pallet jack that will actually move it, and rack it if it is going in a rack. A footprint or deck correction then costs one pallet instead of a whole run.

Sometimes the prototype shows that the piece needs walls and a lid as well as a deck. Then it is a crate, not a pallet, and we build custom crate boxes at the same yard.

The yard is open Monday through Saturday, 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM, and the order can be talked through in English or Spanish. Send the six lines, test one pallet under the real load, and order the run once it passes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I need to have ready to get a custom pallet quote?

Have six custom pallet specifications ready: the load’s length, width and height; its weight and whether it sits on a few points or spreads across the deck; how it will be lifted and stored; whether it leaves the country; whether the pallet makes one trip or many; and how many you need by what date.

Can I order one custom pallet to test before the full order?

Yes. There is no strict minimum and single prototypes are accepted, so one pallet can be built and checked against the load before the run.

What if I do not know the weight or another line of the spec?

Leave that line blank and send the rest. A blank line is something we can ask about before quoting. A guessed number looks like a real one to us, so it ends up in the build.

How do I know whether I need a custom pallet or a crate?

A piece that only needs a deck under it goes on a pallet. A piece that also needs walls and a lid goes in a crate, which the same yard builds to order.